The Evening Brief: Texas Headlines for Jan. 31, 2013

U.S. Senate candidate Ted Cruz speaks to Republican Convention delegates on the final day June 9, 2012.

Culled

• Sen. Ted Cruz grills Chuck Hagel at confirmation hearing (The Dallas Morning News): "Sen. Ted Cruz grilled Secretary of Defense nominee Chuck Hagel this afternoon. Cruz reprimanded the former Republican Nebraska senator for failing to submit to the Armed Services Committee speeches from the past five years. Cruz said Hagel submitted just four speeches, even though records showed he had been paid for 12 in the past year alone."

• Clinton could win Texas (Public Policy Polling): "PPP's newest Texas poll finds that, at least for now, Hillary Clinton could win the state in 2016. This follows on the heels of a survey last month where we found she would have a decent chance of winning Kentucky if she makes another White House bid. 50% of Texas voters have a favorable opinion of Clinton to 43% with a negative one. She's universally well liked by Democrats (91/5) and a majority of independents view her positively as well (52/41). She holds narrow leads in hypothetical match ups with Marco Rubio (46/45) and Chris Christie (45/43) and a wider one in a contest against Rick Perry (50/42)."

• Straus to Announce Panel on Transparency: "House Speaker Joe Straus will emphasize the importance of clean and open government when he announces a new bipartisan Select Committee on Transparency in State Agency Operations on Thursday."

• Lawmakers Seek Cash to Fix Roads Hit by Drilling: "As lawmakers look for a way to fix infrastructure crumbling under the weight of a drilling boom, talk of reducing the tax money that feeds the state's Rainy Day Fund is drawing attention. Most of the fund's money currently comes from state taxes paid by oil and gas companies."

• Family Services Agency Requests Funding for Redesign: "Agency commissioners rarely get applause when they ask the Legislature for an additional $263 million. But that’s what happened on Thursday when John Specia asked to for money to redesign the Department of Family and Protective Services."